Earnestly Contending For The Faith Which Was Once Delivered Unto The Saints

Earnestly Contending For The Faith Which Was Once Delivered Unto The Saints

The Excellencies of The Bible

“Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Me.”
(John 5:39)

I. I have sometimes thought that a Nation must be truly BLESSED if it were governed by no other laws than those of that blessed Book (Deuteronomy 4:5-6). It is so complete a system that nothing can be added to it (Deuteronomy 4:2), nor taken from it (Revelation 22:19). It contains everything needful to be known and done (Acts 16:30-31). It affords a copy for a King (Deut. 17:18) and a rule for a Subject (1 Peter 2:13-14). It gives instruction and counsel to a Senate (Psalm 105:22); authority and direction for a Magistrate (Ezra 7:25-26). It cautions a Witness (Exodus 23:1); requires an impartial verdict of a Jury (Leviticus 19:15), and furnishes the Judge with his sentence (Deuteronomy 16:19-20). It defends the rights Of ALL (Exodus 22), and reveals vengeance to every defrauder (1 Thessalonians 4:6), over-reacher (Isaiah 49:26), or oppressor (Ecclessiastes 5:8). It prescribes and limits the sway of the Sovereign (2 Samuel 23:3), the rule of the Ruler (Romans 13:3-4), and the authority of the Master (Ephesians 6:9), commands the Subject to honour (Romans 13:1), and the Servant to obey (Colossians 3:22), and pro-mises the blessing and protection of its Author to all who walk by its rules (Leviticus 26:3-12; John 16:23).

II. It sets the Husband as lord of the household (1 Peter 3:5-7), and the Wife as mistress of the table (Proverbs 31:15); tell Him how to rule (Colossians 3:19) and HER how to manage (Proverbs 31). It entails honour to Parents (Ephesians 6:2) and enjoins obedience to Children (Colossians 3:20). It gives directions for Weddings (Luke 14:8; John 2:2) and for Burials (Genesis 23:8-9); regulates Feasts (Luke 14:10-15) and Fasts (Isaiah 58:6-7), mournings and rejoicings (Romans 12:15), and orders Labour for the day (Exodus 20:9) and Rest for the night (John 9:4). It promises Food and Raiment (Luke 12:22), and limits the use of both (Romans 13:13; 1 Peter 3:3). It points out a faithful and an Eternal GUARDIAN to the departing Husband and Father (Exodus 22:22-24); tells him with whom to leave his, Fatherless Children (Psalm 146:9), and in whom his Widow is to trust (Jeremiah 49:11), and promises a Father to the former (Psalm 68:5) and a Husband to the latter (Isaiah 54:5). It teaches a man how to set his House in order (Isaiah 38:1), and how to make his Will (Proverbs 13:22). It appoints a dowry for the Wife (Genesis 34:12), entails the right of the first-born (Genesis 48:18), and shews how the younger Branches shall be left (Genesis 49:13).

III. It is the FIRST Book (John 1:1), the BEST Book (Proverbs 30:5), and the OLDEST Book in all the world (Genesis 1:1). It contains the Choicest matter (Psalm 12:6), gives the best instruction (Psalm 19:7-11), and affords the Greatest Pleasure and Satis-faction that ever was revealed (Jeremiah 15:16). It contains the best Laws (Psalm 119:72) and profoundest Mysteries that ever were penned (Romans 11:33). It brings the best of tidings (Luke 2:10-15), and affords the best of Comfort to the enquiring and disconsolate (1 Timothy 1:15). It exhibits Life and Immortality from everlasting (Romans 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:10), and shews the way to Eternal Glory (Psalm 16:11). It is a brief Recital of all that is PAST (Acts 7), and a certain Prediction of all that is to COME (Revelation 1:19). It settles all matters in debate (Isaiah 8:20), resolves all Doubts (Proverbs 22:21; Daniel 5:12), and eases the mind and conscience of all their scruples (Isaiah 55:1; Matthew 11:28). It reveals the Only Living and true GOD (Exodus 34:6-7), and shews the way to Him (John 14:6); it sets aside ALL OTHER gods (Acts 4:12), and describes the Vanity of them (Isaiah 44:9-20), and of all that trust in them (Psalm 97:7).

In short, it is a Book of LAW, to show right (Psalm 19:8; 119:128) and wrong (1 Corinthians 1:19-27).

A Book Of WISDOM, that condemns all folly (Ecclesiastes 7:25) and makes the foolish wise (Psalm 19:7; 1 Corinthians 1:72).

A Book of TRUTH (John 17:17), that detects all lies (1 John 2:4, 22) and confutes all errors (Galatians 1:8).

And a Book of LIFE (Revelation 20:12), that giveth life (John 5:24), and shows the Way from everlasting death (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

IV. It is the most Compendious Book in all the world (Hebrews4:12), the most ancient (Hebrews 11:3), authentic (2 Peter 1:21). and the most entertaining history that ever was published (Ps. 105). It contains the most ancient Antiquities (Genesis 11:4), strange Events (Psalm 78), wonderful Occurrences (Acts 5:15; 19:12), heroic Deeds (1 Samuel 17:49), and unparalleled Wars (Judges 7:19-20). It describes the Celestial (Job 38:31-33), Terrestrial (Genesis 1), and Infernal worlds (Revelation 19:20); and the origin of the Angelic myriads (Hebrews 1:7), Human tribes (Genesis 9:19), and Devilish legions (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:7).

V. It will instruct the most accomplished Mechanic (1 Kings 6:7) and the profoundest Artist (Psalm 139:15-16); it will teach the best Rhetorician (Exodus 4:12), and exercise every power of the most skilful Arithmetician (Revelation 13:18); puzzle the wisest Anatomist (Ecclesiastes 11:5), and exercise the nicest Critic (Matthew 7:4-5). It corrects the vain Philosopher (Colossians 2:8; Job 38), and confutes the wise Astronomer (Job 22:12); it exposes the subtle Sophist (1 Corinthians 3:19), and makes Diviners mad (Isaiah 44:25). It is a complete Code of Laws (Exodus 22), a perfect Body of Divinity (Romans 8), an unequalled narrative (John 21:25), a book of Lives (Hebrews 11), a book of Travels (Numbers 33), and a book of Voyages (Jonah 1; Acts 27).

VI. It is the best COVENANT that ever was agreed on (Jeremiah 32:40), the best DEED that ever was sealed (Isaiah 8:16), the best EVIDENCE that ever was published (John 5:39), the best WILL that ever was made (John 14:27), and the b-‘St TESTAMENT that ever was signed (Hebrews 9:15). To understand it is to be Wise indeed (Proverbs 2:6-7); to be ignorant of it is to be Destitute of wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:14).

VII. It is the King’s best copy (1 Kings 9:4), the Magistrate’s best RULE (Romans 13:1-8), the Housewife’s best GUIDE (Proverbs 31), the Servant’s best DIRECTORY (Ephesians 6:5-8), and the Young Man’s best COMPANION (Psalm 119:9). It is the School-boy’s SPELLING-BOOK (2 Timothy 1:5), and the Learned Man’s MASTERPIECE (1 Corinthians 2:6-7). It contains a choice GRAMMAR for a novice (Matthew 21:16) and profound MYSTERY for a sage (Job 40:4). It is the ignorant man’s DICTIONARY (Isaiah 35:8), and the wise man’s DIRECTORY (Job 28:12-28). It affords knowledge of witty inventions (Proverbs 8:12), and dark Sayings for the GRAVE (Proverbs 1:6); and is ITS OWN INTERPRETER (Genesis 40:8; 1 Corinthians 2:13).

VIII. It is Little Faith’s choice Breast (Isaiah 66:11 ; 1 Peter 2:2), and the strong man’s substantial Dish (Hebrews 5:14). It is the Lady’s best LOOKING-GLASS (2 Corinthians 3:18), in which she may see both her heart and her face (James 1:23-25), and the face and heart of everybody else (Psalm 14:2, 3; Romans 3:12). It is an exact BALANCE (Proverbs 16:11), in which a man may weigh both his spirit and his actions (Job 31:6), and tell the exact weight of himself (Psalm 22:6; 1 Peter 1:24) and of all Mankind (Psalm 62:9; Ecclesiastes 1:13-14; Jeremiah 17:9-10). It is the Astro-nomer’s best TELESCOPE (1 Con 13:12), in which he may see the Sun (Malachi 4:2), Moon (Can. 6:10), and seven Stars (Revelation 2:1), and an awful Eclipse of the damned (Matt. 25:30); and it reveals a World of which no Geographer could ever give a map (Revelation 22:2); and a way to it which no lion hath ever trod (Isaiah 35:9), and which the Vulture’s eye hath never seen (Job 28:7).

IX. It promises —FREEDOM INDEED to all who embrace its truths (John 8:32-36); Freedom from the reign of sin (Romans 6:14), of Satan (Acts 26:18), and of death (Romans 6:9); and except a man receive the TRUTH, the real TRUTH (John 16:13), and that IN THE LOVE OF IT (2 Thessalonians 2:10), he never shall be able to govern himself (Proverbs 16:32), or to bridle his Temper (Colossians 3:12-13), his Passions (Romans 6:12-13), his Tongue (Psalm 39:1; 141:3), or his Sin (Psalm 119:133).

X. It encourages the Wise (Proverbs 2; 16:16), the Warrior (1 Timothy 6:12), the Swift (Hebrews 12:1), and the Overcomer (Revelation 3:5), and promises an eternal reward to the Excellent (Matthew 25:21), the Conqueror (2 Timothy 4:7-8), the Winner (1 Corinthians 9:24), and the Prevalent (Matthew 24:13). And that which crowns all is, that THE AUTHOR is without Partiality (Acts 10:34), and without Hypocrisy (James 3:17); IN WHOM IS NO VARIABLENESS (Malachi 3:6), NOR SHADOW OF TURNING (James 1:17).